Do Australians have the willingness to participate in wildlife conservation?

The integration of social media, smartphone technology and the widespread sharing of images has reshaped tourism, sparking new trends such as selfie-tourism and social media-driven travel. National parks, offering scenic and pristine landscapes, have become prime destinations for these pursuits. The popularity of platforms like Instagram and Facebook, combined with the influence of travel-focused social media personalities, has inspired a wave of visitors seeking "selfie-worthy" locations. However, this shift in visitation motives has raised environmental and safety concerns: visitors venture off-trail, engage in risky photography practices and disrupt natural habitats, increasing the risk of injury and fatalities in hazardous coastal and cliff areas. National parks face growing challenges, with social media's allure prompting a variety of visitors who may lack awareness of responsible tourism practices. This trend imposes costs on park management, emergency services and local ecosystems, necessitating new strategies to balance tourism promotion with ecological protection and public safety. This cross-sectional survey involved New South Wales (NSW) residents aged 18+ who had previously visited a coastal national park in NSW. Conducted online from 18 to 25 August 2023, the survey recruited a demographically representative sample through Dynata, an established survey panel provider. Demographic data included age, gender, education, country of birth, years in Australia, main language spoken at home and language proficiency. The survey examined park visitation behaviours and safety perceptions, with specific questions assessing social media's influence on visitation motivations. A total of 1009 NSW residents completed the survey, with 51.5% identifying as female and 75.4% born in Australia. Social media influenced 32% of respondents to visit coastal national parks, with Instagram being the most popular platform, followed by Facebook and TikTok. Younger age groups (18-34) were significantly more likely to visit parks because of social media compared to older adults (55+; χ2 = 252.07, p < 0.05), though no significant difference was found by gender. Social media platform preferences differed by age, with younger respondents favouring Instagram and TikTok and older respondents favouring Facebook (χ2 = 316.18; p < 0.001). Of those who visited due to social media, 65% took photos and 36% engaged in risky photography (e.g., cliff edges), though no significant age difference was found for risky photo behaviour. Although 56.8% considered park infrastructure safe for social media photos, 43.1% did not, with respondents suggesting improvements in barriers, signage and individual responsibility. The study findings underscore the need for a stronger focus on visitor safety related to photography in NSW national parks, with acknowledgement of visitation instigated by social media. Risky behaviours associated with photography are prevalent and pose significant safety challenges. Public health initiatives should prioritise educational campaigns and safety infrastructure improvements that address risky photography behaviours, independent of social media influences. SO WHAT?: Park management should highlight personal responsibility and consider educational campaigns about the potential dangers of photography in these settings. Nevertheless, social media companies have a role to play in controlling dangerous content that is published on their platforms which is leading to risky behaviours in the real world.

Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are severe problems in global public health, and result in high mortality and morbidity. Various trends of ADR-related hospitalisations have been studied in many countries, while estimates of the trends in Australia are limited. To examine trends in ADR-related hospitalisations in New South Wales (NSW). Data were extracted from the Admitted Patient Data Collection, a census of hospital separations in NSW. We estimated age-adjusted rates of ADR-related hospitalisation between 1 July 2001 and 30 June 2014 and rates by patient characteristics, main therapeutic medication groups and clinical condition groups that warranted the hospitalisation. We used the percentage change annualised estimator to evaluate rates over time. A total of 315 274 NSW residents admitted for urgent care of ADR was identified. The age-adjusted rates of ADR-related hospitalisations nearly doubled and increased by 5.8% (95% CI: 5.0-6.6%) per annum, with an in-hospital death rate increase of 2.4% (1.6-3.3%). Agranulocytosis (2.7%), nausea and vomiting (2.4%) and heart failure (2.4%) were the most common conditions that led to ADR-related hospitalisations over 13 years, with acute renal failure (1.4%) recently emerging as the leading adverse condition. Participants aged between 65 and 84 years accounted for nearly half of ADR hospitalisations (45.6%), with age-adjusted rate increasing from 103.9 in 2001-2002 to 189.0 per 100 000 NSW residents in 2013-2014. Anticoagulants (13.5%) were the most common medications contributing to ADR-related hospitalisation, followed by opioid analgesics (9.6%). ADR-related hospitalisation remains a population health burden, with significant increase over time. The findings call for continuing efforts to prevent ADR, especially among high-risk populations, such as older people.

To investigate the patterns of ED use in metropolitan and rural New South Wales (NSW) by socioeconomic status (SES). We undertook a retrospective, population-based study of de-identified data from the NSW Emergency Department Data Collection (EDDC). The study population comprised of NSW residents who presented to an NSW public hospital ED in 2013-2019 and were registered in the NSW EDDC. Total ED presentations, negative binomial regression modelled annual changes in ED presentations over 2013-2019, and age- and sex-standardised rates of ED presentations in 2019 were assessed. Overall, between 2013 and 2019, ED presentations increased in metropolitan and rural NSW, with mean annual percentage increases of 3.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8-3.5) and 2.5% (95% CI 2.0-2.9), respectively. This growth varied by SES, with larger increases observed in higher SES groups. The bulk of presentations in rural NSW were from individuals living in disadvantaged areas. Standardised rates of ED presentations were highest in the most disadvantaged quintiles (SES 1) and progressively decreased with increasing SES in both rural and metropolitan NSW (negative gradients). Rates were higher in rural NSW compared to metropolitan NSW across all SES quintiles for total, low acuity and non-low acuity presentations. Negative gradients in rates of ED presentations with increasing SES were observed in both metropolitan and rural NSW. At each SES quintile, rates of ED presentations were higher in rural compared to metropolitan areas. Further research exploring the underlying causal mechanisms leading to increased ED demand in rural NSW and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations is warranted.

Conservation Behavior Is Here to Stay

Background: Children who are relatively young for their school grade are more likely to receive treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is unclear whether the phenomenon also exists across Australia or is impacted by the school enrolment policy in place. Objective: We evaluated the association between children's relative age and initiation of ADHD medicines across Australian jurisdictions with different school enrolment policies and rates of delayed school entry. Methods: We used Australia-wide dispensing data for a 15% random sample of children 4-9 years of age in 2013-2017 to create a nationwide cohort. Due to high rates of delayed school entry in New South Wales (NSW), we used linked prescribing and education data for a cohort of NSW residents starting school in 2009 and 2012. We estimated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for ADHD medicine across children's birth month, sex, and jurisdiction. We used asthma medicines as a negative control. Results: For girls, we observed a relative age effect in three out of five jurisdictions, with an IRR ranging from 1.3 to 2.8, comparing the youngest versus oldest birth month thirds. We observed more modest effects among boys, ranging from null to 1.5-fold. In NSW, the relatively youngest boys were less likely to initiate stimulant medicines than the oldest (IRR = 0.5, 95% confidence interval 0.29-0.78). We did not observe a relative age effect for initiation of asthma medicines. Conclusions: In jurisdictions with low rates of delayed entry, relatively young children were more likely to initiate ADHD medicines than their older classmates. We observed the inverse association in NSW where delayed entry was highest, likely reflecting the characteristics and needs of children who delay school entry for 1 year and become the oldest children in the grade. Increased awareness around children's maturity differences and school readiness may enhance appropriate diagnosis and treatment of ADHD.

Background For patients experiencing acute myocardial infarction (AMI), particularly ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), timely revascularisation is important to optimise prognosis. The AMI patient journey often involves presentation to the closest appropriate facility and transfers between hospitals, including across jurisdictions. The Better Cardiac Care (BCC) dataset consists of cross-jurisdictional linked ambulance, emergency, hospital, outpatient, deaths, Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme records for residents of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. This dataset will be updated annually. Methods The BCC dataset comprises 332 million records, from 18 datasets, across 6 jurisdictions. For NSW residents hospitalised for STEMI between 2013 to 2018, we compared the number of STEMI hospitalisations, the proportion of patients receiving revascularisation procedures, and the time to procedures using only NSW records versus records from all jurisdictions and Medicare Benefits Scheme. Results Compared with NSW hospital data, including data from other jurisdictions increased the ascertainment of STEMI hospitalisations by 8.0% and procedures by 11.2% for NSW residents. This increase was greatest for residents living near state borders, increasing the number of STEMI hospitalisations by up to 210% and the percentage receiving procedures by up to 70%. Conclusions Cross-jurisdictional data is essential to understand patient journeys of residents who live in border areas and to evaluate patient care for STEMI and AMI more broadly. Key messages The BCC dataset is a vital asset that enables a more comprehensive view of care for AMI than has been possible to date.

Common names: Macquarie perch, white-eye, silver-eye, mountain perch, bream. Conservation status: Endangered (ANZECC 1999). Identification: D VIII–XII, I + 11–14, A III + 8–11, P 14–17, V I + 5, LL 42–60, gill rakers 17–21, vertebrae 28–31. Moderate-sized percoid fish (max. 460 mm, 3.5 kg), almost black or dark silvery grey to light or off-white silvery grey in colour, eye large, jaws equal (Harris & Rowland 1996). The species status is unresolved since investigations indicate that there are putatively two species (‘eastern’ and ‘western’) of Macquarie perch separated by the Great Dividing Range and possibly two sub-species within the ‘eastern’ species. Distribution: Formally widespread throughout the more southerly tributaries of the Murray-Darling River system of south-east Australia, as well as the Hawkesbury and Shoalhaven River systems on the eastern seaboard (Cadwallader 1981, Harris & Rowland 1996). Current distribution is fragmented and only small discrete populations remain. ‘Western’ populations are restricted to the upper reaches of some tributaries of the Murray-Darling River system, in particular, the Mitta Mitta River system above Darmouth Dam, the Goulburn, Murrumbidgee and Lachlan river systems, and one translocated population in the Yarra River. ‘Eastern’ populations are confined to the Shoalhaven and Hawkesbury river systems (Ingram et al. 1990, Harris & Rowland 1996). Abundance: No reliable population estimates exist for either the ‘eastern’ or ‘western’ forms. Habitat and ecology: Macquarie perch occupy a range of habitats from riffle and boulder areas in relatively small upland streams to larger deeper rivers with sand and clay substrates and submerged timber and snags as well as impounded waters. Their diet includes aquatic invertebrates, especially insects and crustaceans. Reproduction: Spawning, which occurs in shallow upland streams, is apparently triggered by increasing daylength and water temperatures and occurs in October to late December when temperatures range between 14◦C and 18◦C. Spawning Macquarie perch (‘western’ form) are oviparous and the demersal and slightly adhesive eggs (2.0–4.0 mm in diameter) appear to be shed into the water upstream of riffle areas. Hatching commences approximately five days after fertilisation and continues for up to six days (at water temperatures of 18–20◦C). Newly-hatched embryos are approximately 4.5–6.5 mm in length. Feeding commences on zooplankton about 3–5 days after hatching is completed (Gooley 1986, Ingram et al. 1994). Threats: A general degradation of the riverine environment caused by a number of contributing factors including modifications to rivers for hydro-electric, flood mitigation and irrigation schemes, increased pollution from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources, sedimentation, over-fishing, and impacts of introduced species, such as competition, predation and spread of disease (Cadwallader 1978, Ingram et al. 1990). Conservation action: Total bans on the capture of Macquarie perch exist in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and New South Wales (NSW). The capture, keeping and trading of Macquarie perch is controlled by legislation in Victoria. Captive breeding programs have been undertaken at government fish hatcheries in NSW and Victoria to produce and release juveniles of the ‘western’ form into selected sites within its former range to re-establish natural populations (Gooley 1986, Ingram et al. 1990). However, these programs have ceased due to difficulties associated with inducing spawning in both captive broodfish and mature fish in spawning condition captured from the wild. Between 1986 and 1997 approximately 456 000 juveniles were released into nine sites throughout the Murray-Darling basin. Early results indicate survival at some of these sites only. Attempts to re-establish populations of the ‘western’ form by translocation of mature fish have occurred in Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT Government 1999) with mixed success (Lintermans 2000). Conservation recommendations: Improve state and federal legislation to further protect Macquarie perch and preserve and rehabilitate riverine habitats where both existing and re-introduced (stocked) populations occur. Much basic biological information still needs to be collected for both ‘eastern’ and ‘western’ forms including resolution of species status, habitat requirements, life history patterns in the wild and surveys of existing populations to determine size, distribution and breeding status. Remarks: Since the status of Macquarie perch was upgraded to endangered, fisheries regulations have increased the level of protection from recreational fishing in Victoria, and a three year project has been instigated to investigate the Lake Dartmouth population.

Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, therefore improving energy conservation efforts is important to Australia's economic, social, and environmental well-being. In such an environment, long-term policy changes to energy conservation are likely to be contentious, complex, and costly. In this context the use of a complementary social marketing segmentation framework to guide the intervention process could provide additional leverage for policy makers to facilitate short-term improvements, which are aligned with their longer-term goals. This article focuses on the application of market segmentation techniques as potential motivators to electricity conservation efforts in the existing context of residential users of electricity in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It investigates the impact of a range of hypothetical consequence incentive packages (i.e., financial reward and feedback frequency) on attitudes toward energy conservation using a cross-sectional survey of 188 respondents from metropolitan NSW residents. It is proposed that incentive packages for energy conservation campaigns will be most effective when targeted specifically to each of the environmental attitudes and beliefs segments.

Abstract: Animal ecology courses at universities in Indonesia play a crucial role in environmental conservation efforts. However, access to adequate educational resources is limited, creating disparities in awareness and participation in conservation activities. This research aims to analyze the needs of users (students) and stakeholders (lecturers) in developing animal ecology textbooks oriented towards wildlife conservation. The research method uses the Plomp development model. This research focuses only on the initial investigation phase, namely needs analysis. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires with students and lecturers. The results show that 82.5% of lecturers and 85% of students need animal ecology textbooks oriented towards wildlife conservation. Specifically, 100% of lecturers understand the importance of wildlife conservation-oriented learning approaches, but only 65% actively apply these approaches in their teaching. Additionally, 70% of lecturers use textbooks in their teaching, and the same percentage develop their learning resources. Among students, 100% expressed the need for wildlife conservation material, with 75% currently using available textbooks. Furthermore, 100% of students prefer printed textbooks for ease of use in field practicals. In conclusion, the development of animal ecology textbooks oriented towards wildlife conservation is essential to increase student's awareness and involvement in wildlife conservation. Keywords: Needs Analysis, Animal Ecology, Textbooks, Conservation, Wildlife

Engaging urban residents in greater proconservation behaviors is essential to mitigate the biodiversity crisis. To date, most behavior‐change campaigns have been based on a one‐size‐fits‐all “think‐care‐act” approach resulting in insufficient, sometimes counterproductive, conservation gains. In our study, we assess the “think‐care‐act” paradigm and also consider a range of cobenefits that may motivate different segments of urban populations to take greater conservation action for reasons other than biodiversity gains. We surveyed a representative sample of Auckland, New Zealand (n= 2,124) and four clusters emerged through clustering analysis. The first segment (Environmentally Active; 32%), exhibited the “think‐care‐act” paradigm. The second segment (Well Informed; 28%), was highly knowledgeable and concerned about conservation problems but exhibited lower conservation behaviors. The third segment (Active Outdoors; 19%) was actively engaged in outdoor activities, but exhibited low conservation knowledge, concern, and behaviors. The fourth segment (Socially Motivated; 21%), demonstrated high levels of conservation behaviors but lower knowledge and concern about conservation issues. We discuss potential ways to engage with each segment based on cobenefits and the need to move away from the traditional “think‐care‐act” paradigm and instead work with existing values systems and foster greater conservation behavior based on existing cobenefits.

In this issue, we present our annual review of notifiable diseases reported in New South Wales (NSW) residents. For greater depth of detail, refer to Tables 2-6, which show disease-specific data reported by: year of onset; month of onset; area health service (AHS); and age group and sex.

BackgroundOver the past decade, there have been substantial changes in landline and mobile phone ownership, with a substantial increase in the proportion of mobile-only households. Estimates of daily smoking rates for the mobile phone only (MPO) population have been found to be substantially higher than the rest of the population and telephone surveys that use a dual sampling frame (landline and mobile phones) are now considered best practice. Smoking is seen as an undesirable behaviour; measuring such behaviours using an interviewer may lead to lower estimates when using telephone based surveys compared to self-administered approaches. This study aims to assess whether higher daily smoking estimates observed for the mobile phone only population can be explained by administrative features of surveys, after accounting for differences in the phone ownership population groups.MethodsData on New South Wales (NSW) residents aged 18 years or older from the NSW Population Health Survey (PHS), a telephone survey, and the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), a self-administered survey, were combined, with weights adjusted to match the 2013 population. Design-adjusted prevalence estimates and odds ratios were calculated using survey analysis procedures available in SAS 9.4.ResultsBoth the PHS and NDSHS gave the same estimates for daily smoking (12%) and similar estimates for MPO users (20% and 18% respectively). Pooled data showed that daily smoking was 19% for MPO users, compared to 10% for dual phone owners, and 12% for landline phone only users. Prevalence estimates for MPO users across both surveys were consistently higher than other phone ownership groups. Differences in estimates for the MPO population compared to other phone ownership groups persisted even after adjustment for the mode of collection and demographic factors.ConclusionsDaily smoking rates were consistently higher for the mobile phone only population and this was not driven by the mode of survey collection. This supports the assertion that the use of a dual sampling frame addresses coverage issues that would otherwise be present in telephone surveys that only made use of a landline sampling frame.

How do we advance the environmental literacy of young people, support the next generation of environmental stewards and increase the diversity of the leadership of zoos and aquariums? We believe it is through ongoing evaluation of zoo and aquarium teen programming and have founded a consortium to pursue those goals. The Zoo and Aquarium Teen Program Assessment Consortium (ZATPAC) is an initiative by six of the nation's leading zoos and aquariums to strengthen institutional evaluation capacity, model a collaborative approach toward assessing the impact of youth programs, and bring additional rigor to evaluation efforts within the field of informal science education. Since its beginning in 2004, ZATPAC has researched, developed, pilot-tested and implemented a pre-post program survey instrument designed to assess teens' knowledge of environmental issues, skills and abilities to take conservation actions, self-efficacy in environmental actions, and engagement in environmentally responsible behaviors. Findings from this survey indicate that teens who join zoo/aquarium programs are already actively engaged in many conservation behaviors. After participating in the programs, teens showed a statistically significant increase in their reported knowledge of conservation and environmental issues and their abilities to research, explain, and find resources to take action on conservation issues of personal concern. Teens also showed statistically significant increases pre-program to post-program for various conservation behaviors, including "I talk with my family and/or friends about things they can do to help the animals or the environment," "I save water...," "I save energy...," "When I am shopping I look for recycled products," and "I help with projects that restore wildlife habitat."

Using the conceptual frameworks and theories of virtual tourism, telepresence and para-social interactions, this exploratory study investigates an innovative campaign employed by a nature-based wildlife tourism operator as a response to the COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions of 2020/21. Insights are provided into a unique model of webcam livestreaming that is scheduled, hosted and interactive. Over 73,000 social media comments and 590 survey responses from webcam viewers were analysed and indicate that watching the livestream had positive impacts for tourism recovery and conservation action. Research findings suggest that interactive webcam travel can affect travel behaviour and conservation awareness and action in part through building and engaging online communities and supporting a sense of connection with nature. This study contributes new knowledge to the emerging research on webcam livestreaming in tourism. As a subset of virtual tourism, interactive webcam travel emerges as an alternative to more costly forms of virtual reality for industry practitioners and stakeholders to engage new and old audiences, especially in the context of tourism recovery initiatives after disasters and crises that prevent or limit physical visitation.

Land degradation is influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors, due to human behavioral activities. Studies on land degradation often focus on biophysical aspects and processes. Farmers’ perceptions and knowledge about land degradation are often ignored by researchers. The conservation behavior of farmers towards critical land needs to be studied. The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of farmers’ perceptions of critical land, as well as its influence on conservation actions in Jatiyoso and Gempolan villages, Karanganyar. This research is a quantitative descriptive study using the primary data obtained from the results of a survey of 61 farmer respondents in Jatiyoso and Gempolan Villages, Karanganyar, which was then analyzed by a simple regression analysis. The results of observations on the level of achievement of the respondents regarding the farmers’ perceptions that the land they work on is critically vulnerable is 59%, and the level of achievement of the respondents regarding Conservation Action is 55%. The relationship between farmers’ perceptions of conservation actions can be explained that farmers’ perceptions have a real influence on conservation actions of 63.8%. Further research involving the variables of Learning Experience, Knowledge, and Sense of Responsibility, needs to be carried out to get a comprehensive of Farmer Conservation Behavior on critical land. The strategy to increase the role of farmers in land conservation is to build farmers’ perceptions of critical land so that they are more aware of the threats to critical land, through agricultural extension.